Compressed-air energy storage (CAES) has been used in the past as a back-up power source to provide power in the event of the failure of some other power system. These systems have been developed for large-scale operations that operate at power levels in the range of megawatts and thus have an energy capacity of many megawatt-hours.
Unfortunately these large centralized energy storage applications are not appropriate and cannot be utilized where there is not both a well-established mature electricity transmission and distribution infrastructure and sufficient electricity generation capacity. These large-scale solutions also may require an operations and maintenance staff and may suffer from durability problems if left unattended, especially in geographic regions where grid electricity is not available at least 99% of the time. As such, their use is not wide-spread. And yet, for billions of people worldwide, including many of those in growing economies with persistent demands for increased power availability, there remains a lack of electricity distribution infrastructure (power lines, etc.) and/or a lack of power generation capacity to supply the necessary electricity. For these populations, CAES solutions at the right scale and designed for durability and autonomous operation in their environment would be highly beneficial to improve the consistency and availability of electricity service.
Growing populations depend on electricity storage and local fuel-based generation. Current solutions rely undesirably on lead acid batteries and diesel generators. Lead-acid batteries have limitations that can make them costly elements of power systems. For example, lead acid batteries can be fragile and have short life expectancy especially in warm climates. Diesel generators can require a network of people, equipment, and other operational expenses to effectively keep them running on a daily basis.